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Whisperers: The Secret History of the Spirit World
It may seem incredible, but as J. H. Brennan reveals in this eye-opening new history, there is a wealth of evidence to suggest that such whisperings are not only possible, but that they have occurred again and again, subtly directing the course of human events.
In Whisperers, bestselling novelist and expert on the occult J. H. Brennan explores how the "spirit world"--whether we believe in it or not--has influenced our own since the dawn of civilization. With a novelist's flair and a scholar's keen eye, Brennan details the supernatural affinities of world leaders from King Nebuchadnezzar to Adolf Hitler, showing how the decisions and policies of each have been shaped by their supernatural beliefs and encounters. Brennan also examines the impact of visions, from Shamanism in native cultures to prophets such as Joan of Arc. Chronicling millennia of contact between the spirit world and our own, Whisperers presents an entirely new and different way to look at history.
In Whisperers, bestselling novelist and expert on the occult J. H. Brennan explores how the "spirit world"--whether we believe in it or not--has influenced our own since the dawn of civilization. With a novelist's flair and a scholar's keen eye, Brennan details the supernatural affinities of world leaders from King Nebuchadnezzar to Adolf Hitler, showing how the decisions and policies of each have been shaped by their supernatural beliefs and encounters. Brennan also examines the impact of visions, from Shamanism in native cultures to prophets such as Joan of Arc. Chronicling millennia of contact between the spirit world and our own, Whisperers presents an entirely new and different way to look at history.
414 pages, Hardcover
First published June 13, 2013
57 people are currently reading
400 people want to read
About the author
J.H. Brennan
99 books47 followersJames Herbert "Herbie" Brennan is a lecturer and the author of over one hundred fiction and non-fiction books for adults, teens, and children.
His works have been translated into approximately fifty languages, he has also written books on the Occult and New Age. He initially trained in esoteric teachings and Qabalah with the Fraternity of the Inner Light, and later became associated with Dolores Ashcroft-Nowicki and the Servants of the Light.
In 1995 he contributed two novels to the Horrorscopes series under the house pen name Maria Palmer.
In 2003, Brennan published the children's book The Book of Wizardry: The Apprentice's Guide to the Secrets of the Wizards' Guild under the pseudonym Cornelius Rumstuckle.
His works have been translated into approximately fifty languages, he has also written books on the Occult and New Age. He initially trained in esoteric teachings and Qabalah with the Fraternity of the Inner Light, and later became associated with Dolores Ashcroft-Nowicki and the Servants of the Light.
In 1995 he contributed two novels to the Horrorscopes series under the house pen name Maria Palmer.
In 2003, Brennan published the children's book The Book of Wizardry: The Apprentice's Guide to the Secrets of the Wizards' Guild under the pseudonym Cornelius Rumstuckle.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
January 24, 2016
I was hoping that this book would be more focused on the overall impact of the spirit world on modern history, and so was disappointed. After the first part, it gets incredibly repetitive, especially for someone who already has a bit of knowledge on the topic. However, it is a good introductory book and is well written. It is most likely to be interesting for people who enjoy biographies and microhistory.
September 1, 2013
Every year I read another book from my trip to Park City. This year Whisperers by J.H. Brennan was selected. Often the books selected don't "fit" mainstream thought as this one.
The author writes this book based on research conducted as part of his educational pursuits. Taking a historical approach, he presents the argument that people, interacting with spirits, have influenced the world in which we live. From communion with the gods, early Egyptian documentations, to famous historical figures (Joan of Arc, Nostradamus, Rasputin, etc.) to more contemporary views, the author takes the reader on a journey of life being influenced by the spirit world. (note: my LDS peers would be interested to know that Chapter 15 is devoted to the founder of Mormonism, Joseph Smith). After recently seeing the movie The Conjuring I was interested to find that the author mentions the work of Ed and Lorraine Warren.
The documentary style used throughout the book makes the material approachable for the various levels of "belief" a reader might have. I also enjoyed that the chapters were divided into bite size chunks of information that could be easily consumed as needed.
At the end of the journey the reader is presented with modern day explanations including basics of Carl Jung, the Boggle Threshold, and Quantum physics. For the most part the author uses constaint in his presenetation and saves his bias for the chapters near the end loosely using logic to make the point that:
"This is the reality to which history points us. This is the reality taught by every major religion. This is the reality of the mystic's vision and the shaman's quest. This is the quantum reality discovered by our scientists. How long will it take for us to grasp it?"
In addition to representing his bias the author does attempt to balance the presentation with scientific explanations/research that would suggest alternative explanations. This does add to the credibility of the author and the controversial topic.
If you are interested in spirits, the role that they may take or perhaps more interested in those who do believe and the personalities they have, you may enjoy this book. Each character is brought to life by the author, presenting the details necessary for each experience. I believe the author was successful in presenting an authoratative presentation on the history of Whisperers.
The author writes this book based on research conducted as part of his educational pursuits. Taking a historical approach, he presents the argument that people, interacting with spirits, have influenced the world in which we live. From communion with the gods, early Egyptian documentations, to famous historical figures (Joan of Arc, Nostradamus, Rasputin, etc.) to more contemporary views, the author takes the reader on a journey of life being influenced by the spirit world. (note: my LDS peers would be interested to know that Chapter 15 is devoted to the founder of Mormonism, Joseph Smith). After recently seeing the movie The Conjuring I was interested to find that the author mentions the work of Ed and Lorraine Warren.
The documentary style used throughout the book makes the material approachable for the various levels of "belief" a reader might have. I also enjoyed that the chapters were divided into bite size chunks of information that could be easily consumed as needed.
At the end of the journey the reader is presented with modern day explanations including basics of Carl Jung, the Boggle Threshold, and Quantum physics. For the most part the author uses constaint in his presenetation and saves his bias for the chapters near the end loosely using logic to make the point that:
"This is the reality to which history points us. This is the reality taught by every major religion. This is the reality of the mystic's vision and the shaman's quest. This is the quantum reality discovered by our scientists. How long will it take for us to grasp it?"
In addition to representing his bias the author does attempt to balance the presentation with scientific explanations/research that would suggest alternative explanations. This does add to the credibility of the author and the controversial topic.
If you are interested in spirits, the role that they may take or perhaps more interested in those who do believe and the personalities they have, you may enjoy this book. Each character is brought to life by the author, presenting the details necessary for each experience. I believe the author was successful in presenting an authoratative presentation on the history of Whisperers.
November 19, 2013
There are many thought provoking topics explored related to whether or not spirits exist and how they are thought to have influenced the world, from politics to formations of religions.
My favorite chapters came near the end. Guess I should have read the conclusion first. Wonderful coverage of Jung's activities in developing his concept of the collective unconscious. Also covered is the neutrino, quanta, and the possibility that spirits are composed of neutrinos, and the voice recording experiments conducted by scientists that yielded results.
Slow-going, but definitely a good read.
My favorite chapters came near the end. Guess I should have read the conclusion first. Wonderful coverage of Jung's activities in developing his concept of the collective unconscious. Also covered is the neutrino, quanta, and the possibility that spirits are composed of neutrinos, and the voice recording experiments conducted by scientists that yielded results.
Slow-going, but definitely a good read.
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June 1, 2013Interesting history of spiritualism from ancient times to the present. I found the most fascinating aspect was investigating the theories of quantum physics and psychological experiments to explain the phenomenon of psychic mediums, shamans and those who have witnessed paranormal activity.
October 4, 2013
There were moments when I really loved this book, but too often I found myself frustrated by the generalizations, the mistakes (I don't care if you're Irish--you shouldn't spell Ronald Reagan's name wrong multiple times)and the way it devolved, in the end, into rambling accounts of ghost-hunting. I guess I hoped for more daring conclusions, or at least an interesting theory or two of the author's own. He spent a lot of time on Jaynes' bicameral mind, about which I had mixed feelings. And some of the chapters seemed a little light on research. For instance, the chapter on Joseph Smith and the founding of the Mormon church had some . . . weird stuff in it. I went looking through the notes to see where he'd come up with it and found Wikipedia. Yes, the website I try to get my kids not to use for research. Color me unimpressed.
April 27, 2014
Interesting history of spiritualism and the sightings of ghosts. Regardless of one's belief in the paranormal, this book makes good argument that the belief of others in ghosts and spirits has influenced our world and history.
July 21, 2013
Very good read, definitely kept me interested.
July 19, 2017
I could have done without the poltergeist section, or at least done of it... the v science chapter was fascinating!
October 17, 2016
Interesting ideas and thought provoking, but let down by some basic mistakes and repetitive in places.
November 22, 2025
This book has a decent overview, but kinda jumps around a lot in the middle and never fully delivers on its promise of highlighting how the spirit world has impacted our own.
October 7, 2014
Couldn't continue. Gave it 100 pages and stopped.
The premise is interesting: Spirits (either real or imaginary) play a huge role in determining all sorts of decisions. Policy decisions, acts of war, genocides and a whole range of far more mundane decisions are made based on "spiritual guidance" or the belief in such a thing.
Parts of what I read were interesting, but in all the text was far too academic and dry to be a good read. A couple interesting ideas stood out from those first 100 pages though. 1) Heinrich Himmler and the Nazis implemented the Final Solution based on what an ancient Germanic King (maybe similar to King Arthur in legend and lore) wanted them to do. 2) The human experience with spirits was far different 10,000 or so years ago, as humans and spirits enjoyed direct contact. Only after that did the spirits retreat to the removed existence similar to today.
I find the first idea highly plausible. The second one a bit far-fetched but there truly is no way of proving or disproving it. Ancient human/spirit communal existence is an interesting idea to think about. It would explain why spirits play such a huge role in history and current existence. It would explain all the various religions and how each seems to be striving for a re-connection to what used to be.
The premise is interesting: Spirits (either real or imaginary) play a huge role in determining all sorts of decisions. Policy decisions, acts of war, genocides and a whole range of far more mundane decisions are made based on "spiritual guidance" or the belief in such a thing.
Parts of what I read were interesting, but in all the text was far too academic and dry to be a good read. A couple interesting ideas stood out from those first 100 pages though. 1) Heinrich Himmler and the Nazis implemented the Final Solution based on what an ancient Germanic King (maybe similar to King Arthur in legend and lore) wanted them to do. 2) The human experience with spirits was far different 10,000 or so years ago, as humans and spirits enjoyed direct contact. Only after that did the spirits retreat to the removed existence similar to today.
I find the first idea highly plausible. The second one a bit far-fetched but there truly is no way of proving or disproving it. Ancient human/spirit communal existence is an interesting idea to think about. It would explain why spirits play such a huge role in history and current existence. It would explain all the various religions and how each seems to be striving for a re-connection to what used to be.
July 3, 2015
For months I have tried to get through this book and even resorted to speed reading, but I just couldn't do it. The arguments made by the author are thin and the writing is done in such a way that it seems to try and elevate the author's intelligence but fails. Would not recommend.
August 5, 2013
I have started reading this book a week ago.The first part of book is intro to all the religions of world.
June 22, 2014
I enjoyed some chapters but didn't enjoy others.
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January 22, 2017DNF due to lack of interest therefore no rating given.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews